The Houston Astros fell 5-1 to the Athletics on Tuesday night in Sacramento. The loss moves Houston to a full game out of the Wild Card race with just five games to play.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The A’s started with Jeffrey Springs on the mound. Springs cruised through the first inning, retiring the Astros in order.
The Astros countered with Cristian Javier. Javier was going to work through the inning with a pop up. However, it fell in the infield and allowed the A’s to take a 1-0 lead after one inning.
Houston would answer in the top half of the second as they loaded the bases with no outs. Zach Cole struck out, but Cam Smith came through with a sacrifice fly for an RBI to tie the game 1-1.
In the fourth, the A’s used more good fortune to retake the lead. A bloop single with two outs brought home a run to make it 2-1.
That lead would get extended one frame later. Tyler Soderstrom hit an RBI double and Jacob Wilson came through with a run-scoring single. After those two blows, the Astros deficit was at 4-1.
Houston’s offense could not mount a comeback in this one, and the A’s would add an extra insurance run in the eighth. That made it 5-1, which was ultimately the final score.
BIG NUMBER: 5
The Astros have just five games left in the season and may very well have to win four of them to make the playoffs.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Jeffrey Springs
Springs held the Astros lineup down, allowing just one run over five innings. He allowed just three hits and also struck out three in the outing.
UP NEXT: The Astros and A’s will face off again tomorrow night at 9:05 PM. You can listen to the game on ESPN 103.7 Lafayette 104.1 Lake Charles.